Ron Hale, regional director, Dex Imaging

But he isn't just an employee, he's a true fan of his boss and company founder Dan Doyle Sr., he says.

In the past, Hale worked for Doyle at Danka Office Imaging, as a division vice president, in Dallas, Texas.

When Doyle launched Dex, and opened its South Florida location, Hale said he wanted to be a part of that business because he knew it would be "something special."

That's because Hale also embraces Dex's business model in that it's supportive of and invests in its employees and its community.

The company gives back a percentage of its profits to local charities in the various markets it services. Employees and technicians get intensive training on new products and follow-up training as technology advances.

Appreciating lessons in life makes Hale a valuable employee, he says. As a wrestler in high school, he learned winning was possible "only as a result of discipline and sacrifice during training." He learned leadership in theU.S. Marine Corps. And, as an entrepreneur, he realized how little he knew about how hard it is, to make a profit.

The drill-down

Why are you a good fit for this job? I embrace hard work. I enjoy overcoming challenges. I have high expectations of myself and everyone around me. I am a bit of a perfectionist and a people pleaser. I think that combination makes me a good fit for leadership in a service company with very high standards.

Is there an aspect to working in South Florida that sets you apart from your counterparts around the country? The workforce and the market are very diverse, and the competition is fierce. The level of customer sophistication and the level of competition brings out the best in me, and requires certain skills and a focus from me that may not be as critical in other markets.

How has technology changed the way your company does business? There has been a shift in the way documents are produced, shared, distributed and stored. So the focus is more on solutions involving electronic document storage and retrieval, electronic document workflow, electronic document scanning, forms recognition etc. Fortunately for us, our company was born into this environment and built to address these types of applications; while many of the traditional "copier companies" are struggling to reinvent themselves to address these new demands. This gives us a real advantage.

How does the company's giving back relate to its customer service? It is a reflection of our values. We care about our clients and we care about our community. Our financial support of local charities and nonprofits is a tangible demonstration of that care.

As a client, why should I care if you give back to the community or not? Strong communities provide a strong business climate for all of us. We believe investing a portion of those proceeds back into the community is good business policy and the right thing to do.

How does your company stay relevant to its clients? Dex designs and develops all of its software solutions in-house. This gives us total control and accountability in the design, implementation, training and support of all our software solutions. This is a huge distinction and one of the reasons we are so effective in helping our clients migrate to a better managed, more paperless work environment.

With technology as organic as it is, how are training programs effective? This is precisely why we made such a significant investment in the training of our employees. We have our own in-house service training school staffed by certified trainers. Regularly, technicians receive training in addition to weekly training at the field level for all service employees.

What a small business should look for in its service providers

How responsive and accessible are they before the sale? That is the best it will ever be. If they are not responsive and accessible before the sale, you will have a nightmare after the contract is signed.

Executive leadership should be accessible and engaged. A salesperson can promise anything.

How tenured are the key employees? High turnover means inconsistent service delivery at best.

What does the backroom look like? Quality service delivery is in the details; if the backroom and the warehouse is a mess — beware. Delivering a consistently high level of service is not an accident. It is the result of a well thought out, well funded, well-executed plan.

They need to be financially sound. These days this is more important than ever before.